


Rule The World

by LLReid



Category: Reigning Passions (Visual Novel)
Genre: Altadellys, Coronation, F/F, Fantasy, Fluff, Lysende, Royalty, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LLReid/pseuds/LLReid
Summary: Inspired by Take That’s song, ‘Rule The World’.~~~~~“What do I call you now?,” she teased. “‘The Jewel of Lysende’ seems far too modest. Don’t you agree, my queen?”Lyrei giggled and turned in her embrace, her laughter more brilliant than the distant music that was carried to them by the breeze. “Just call me Lyrei.”“Is that an order?”Lyrei flushed scarlet. “Oh, stop.”She leaned in, chuckling, mere inches from her lips. “How intimate.” She leaned in further and kissed her lightly. “To be given the privilege of using the queen’s name—““Is a privilege given only to you,” Lyrei whispered into her mouth. “I meant what I said. In this life you and I will always be equals, no bowing and no titles. As far as I am concerned, you are every bit the queen that I am.”
Relationships: Xenia of the Autumn/Lyrei Ararieth, Xenia/Main Character (Reigning Passions)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62





	Rule The World

“What was stolen has been restored; what was lost has come home again. I hail thee, Lyrei Ararieth, true and rightful Queen of all Lysende,” Queen Safir said as she lowered a jewelled ring of gold metal onto Lyrei’s head.

Xenia knew those words weighed on her and she knew that she would never forget them, she would never take them lightly — not when people knelt before her, fingers pressed to their brows as they bowed their heads, fierce pride lighting their faces. They’d accepted her, welcomed her leadership. Together. As one people.

“God save the Queen! Long may she reign!,” Safir said, smiling proudly at Lyrei as she dropped to her knees before the throne, bowing her head in the deepest sign of respect.

“God save the Queen! Long may she reign!,” at least five hundred people called out in unison, as trumpets sounded and cheers echoed from the crowded city streets far below the palace. Lyrei smiled serenely, giving off an air of divine regality that was impossible to match. Its was like she finally knew she was better than the majority of the people in the room, but did not look down on them for it because she knew it was not their fault.

I have known her longer, Xenia’s smile said as she watched on proudly as Lyrei gazed out over her subjects. The throne room was packed full of spectators, both blue blooded and common, and every set of eyes shone with the happiest of tears as the queen of people’s hearts finally took her rightful position. To everyone else, Lyrei was a regal enigma they desired to solve, beloved and poised and uncommonly kind. But only the Mistress of Spies had been inside the circle of her arms, tasted her mouth, felt the warmth of her, and that was something they would never have — part of her that was only for Xenia. They could not touch it, no matter how hard they might try, and even after she’d retired at the end of the day Xenia would still be there at her side, making her smile. Her light shining in her. She would still be there, long after the queen had forgotten the majority of the adoring faces staring up at her.

She was a young lady who was most beautiful, but to most she was beautiful in the way a raging fire was beautiful: something to be admired from a distance, never up close. To a select few, though, she was spirited, if a little unusual. Her true friends were few, but lovers queued for her... but to all she gave a refusal. The people of Lysende may have finally had a queen, but only Xenia had her heart.

There was not a single doubt in her mind that Lyrei would be the greatest monarch Lysende had ever seen. Change was inevitable, change was freedom, change was life. It was always easier not to think for oneself, not to upset the status-quo, to find a nice safe hierarchy and settle deep within it. Society in Altadellys screamed that it was easier not to make changes, not to risk disapproval, not to risk upsetting the blue bloods that roamed the palace halls. It was always easiest to let oneself be governed, but Lyrei hadn’t been content to do that. She’d fought tooth and nail, changed her destiny, and changed the world in the process of claiming what was hers by birthright.

The belief that she held in Lyrei was not simply a thing for fair times and bright days, it’d been there just as strong when she’d been a barmaid as it was at that very moment. What was belief — what was faith or love — if one did not continue in it after failure? Anyone could believe in someone, or something that always succeeded. But, failure, that was hard to believe in, certainly and truly — she’d learned that much on the difficult journey they’d taken to prove Lyrei’s legitimacy. It was difficult enough to have value. Sometimes one just had to wait long enough, then they found out why exactly it was that they kept believing. Or sometimes, they just knew all along, and she’d known from the moment that they’d met that she’d be quite the force of chaotic energy.

Lyrei’s attention was fixed upon the beautiful, grey skinned woman who was never far from her side, as though tethered to her by an invisible thread. All of the noble houses and generals from The Wilds were all deadly in their own way but they had willingly bent the knee to the true Red Queen, who had shown them that a world divided was not a world that could thrive. The woman gazing at her with undisguised affection in her eyes and a secret smile on her face that only Xenia could decipher was not merely powerful — she was power.

She had become a symbol of hope, the one whose weapon of a mind had become world renowned as both her greatest strength and the thing that actually made some people afraid of her — that had earned her the moniker ‘the devourer of the world’ by those old power-hungry fools who’d lost the illusion that they were ever powerful and oh-so-bravely opposed her reign within the confines of their own home. Lyrei did not mind the nickname in the slightest, as all she had ever done was tell the truth and — to Xenia’s pride — she could not care less if fragile old men and women could not accept her victories or the new world order. She saw what she wanted, what was rightfully hers, and she had seized it. She did not ask for it; did not wish for it. With Xenia’s help, she had taken it... and the world had been made better for it — Xenia, herself, had been made better for it.

Her eyes sparkled with pride as she climbed the stairs towards the throne, towards her sweet girl, towards her queen. Part of the coronation ceremony saw that the most influential people who lived and worked in Lysende would approach the throne, kneel, and kiss the hand of the monarch, pledging their loyalty to both queen and country before all. Lyrei had deemed it a stupid ritual, but when no one else could get through to her, Queen Safir had managed to convince her that taking it out of her coronation was a bad idea. First General Nisse had gone, followed by Captain Amara, the Priestesses and Priests of the seasons, the heads of each noble house, and then Queen Safir. Xenia had been given the honour of going last, given that it had been her who’d brought Lyrei home and stuck by her side throughout the whole Tansy debacle.

It slowly began to dawn on her that she had been staring at her for an impossible amount of time. Lost in her thoughts, lost in the sight of her glittering in her golden coronation gown. But her face didn't look as amused as she would have been if they were alone. It almost looked as if she were studying the lines of her face, almost as if she were trying to memorise exactly how she looked at that moment. She had ensnared her. She could smell her perfume on her skin — of stories and secrets, flashing teeth and slow smiles.

Xenia wanted to tell her that she was the first beautiful thing she had seen in years. That the sight of her yawning to the back of her hand on the night she’d brought her home to Altadellys had been enough to drive the breath from her. How, even still, she sometimes lost the sense of her words in the sweet fluting of her voice. She wanted to say that so long as she were with her then somehow nothing could ever be wrong again, but before she could so much as open her mouth or realise what was happening, a familiar hand came to rest on her arm, preventing her from kneeling.

“You do not kneel to me, not now and not ever,” Lyrei said, clear enough that everyone could hear as she brought Xenia’s hand to her lips and kissed it. “You, more than anyone ever has, have proven your loyalty and earned my respect. You brought me home, cared for me after my failed assassination attempt, believed in me when everyone else in this room refused to, exposed Tansy as a fraud by showing us all that the only way to take down what has destroyed you is to disguise yourself as part of it, and you have become a source of endless comfort and joy in my life.” The redhead beamed, her eyes never leaving Xenia’s. “My first act as queen is to ensure that you, Xenia, Mistress of Spies, my most trusted advisor and most loyal of friends,” she winked at the ‘f’ word and a small smirk twitched at the corners of Xenia’s mouth, “will never be expected to walk a step behind me. From this day on, you bow to no one.”

Xenia was certain there were more than a few audible gasps and murmurs, but she couldn’t bring herself to really focus on them, too overcome with emotion to much else than kiss Lyrei’s hand. Still, no one who they had not already told about the nature of their relationship wouldn’t think too much of it. When you are who they expect you to be, they never look too closely. 

When she looked at her those emerald green eyes that were so striking that they unsettled all those who did not know her were piercing straight through to her soul, seemingly reading every thought and emotion she harboured before she had even taken notice of them herself. In the spans that she had seen pass, Xenia had become a beautiful weapon, forged by grief and despair. And despite it all, despite the rage and sorrow and ice she had at times wrapped around her heart, no one had ever seen through her every gesture like the Queen could. Every horizon she gazed toward, unable and unwilling to rest, every mountain and ocean she had seen and wondered what lay beyond... and not one single person in all that time had come close to having the same gift that Lyrei had. She believed that Lyrei saw everything — saw too much; saw and felt it all. And she burned with it.

“Thank you, my queen,” she smiled, her eyes still never leaving Lyrei’s. “I am honoured to receive such recognition.”

“The honour is mine,” Lyrei replied, giving her one of the few genuine smiles she’d displayed all day. Xenia knew her so well that she knew that at that very moment, there was only the two of them. The crown may have been on her head and the throne beneath her, and they may have been before hundreds of spectators, but at that moment all the Queen saw was her beloved spy mistress. Nothing and no one else mattered.

“I will do you proud, my sweet girl,” she whispered so quietly that no one else would be able to overhear.

“You already have,” Lyrei smiled. “Will you promise me something?”

“Anything.”

“I like luxury, these gowns and jewels. But in the end… they are replaceable. I’ve come to value the people in my life more. I need you to keep seeing me for who I am — not what I am.”

“It’s a promise.”

She was prouder than she’d ever been of anyone, and for the first time in far too long, she felt proud of herself too. She had publicly been declared her equal — the equal of a monarch who was wise enough to know herself, and brave enough to be herself, and wild enough to change herself whilst somehow staying altogether true.

After spans of being judged wrongfully and accused of being a cold blooded killer by those who did not know what had happened to Valerian, to finally be declared as something more by someone she cared for so deeply, it felt like one of the most important moments of her life. It had been hard to face the rumours and slander that she had, but it had been far worse when the people looking down on her were clods who had never read a book or traveled more than twenty miles from the place they were born. She had a gut feeling that things would soon be very different. Better, finally.

Back in the front row of spectators, she watched as Lyrei rose from her throne with an impossible amount of grace, and the most loyal members of the queensguard raised their swords in the air to form a guard of honour as she made her way from the throne room. She looked as if she were floating across the gold trimmed red carpet that had been laid down on the polished marble floors, her golden gown impossibly regal and the crown on her head glinting in the light of the setting sun just as much as the ruby-topped sceptres in her hands. How fitting that the girl who believed that the world could be different, believed that destinies didn’t have to be chains around the neck, but wings that gave flight, now looked like she was flying.

As she passed by people bowed and cheered and chanted. ‘God save the queen’, called the peasantry. ‘All hail queen Lyrei’, cheered her closest friends. Their happiness was almost drowned out by the full orchestra playing in unison, by the sound of parties already begun in the streets of Altadellys.

“Mistress Xenia?,” a young footman said, approaching her with the utmost respect.

“Hmm?”

“Her majesty has asked that you meet her in the gardens... er, now. Right now, please.”

Xenia huffed out of sheer amusement and nodded once before the young man scurried away, practically tripping over his own two feet. To spend Lyrei’s first few moments as queen with her away from prying eyes... it was an honour to even be asked to do such a thing.

Without a moments hesitation she slipped away from the excited courtiers heading towards the ballroom to begin their own celebration. Under normal circumstances she would’ve cautioned Lyrei against being late, but she supposed that being late to her own coronation ball was a Queen’s prerogative.

Lyrei was waiting for her amongst the roses, beneath a setting sun that had painted the sky in vibrant shades of orange and pink that lit up the gown she was wearing so that she appeared more goddess than mere mortal. Without a word, Xenia wrapped her arms around her from behind and pressed a kiss to her neck, revelling in the comforting heat of her. She smelled like lavender, and honey, and the smell the air holds seconds before a heavy summer rain. Neither of them spoke for a few moments, simply relishing in their first quiet moment in an otherwise hectic day. The closeness of her was the sweetest, sharpest, most brilliant thing Xenia had ever known.

Many things led to that day, for all of them. A revolution, a lost princess, a cursed queen with a long shadow, an orphaned barmaid, and a scorned spy. Together, they had written a story that would be remembered for centuries. Together, they had ushered Lysende out of the darkness and into the brand new Lyreian Era.

“What do I call you now?,” she teased. “‘The Jewel of Lysende’ seems far too modest, don’t you agree, my queen?”

Lyrei giggled and turned in her embrace, her laughter more brilliant than the distant music that was carried to them by the breeze. “Just call me Lyrei.”

“Is that an order?”

Lyrei flushed scarlet. “Oh, stop.”

She leaned in, chuckling, mere inches from her lips. “How intimate.” She leaned in further and kissed her lightly. “To be given the privilege of using the queen’s name—“

“Is a privilege given only to you,” Lyrei whispered into her mouth. “I meant what I said. In this life you and I will always be equals, no bowing and no titles. As far as I am concerned, you are every bit the queen that I am.”

Their difference in rank was, perhaps, the biggest flaw in their relationship... but what did that matter when it came to matters of the heart? People love who they love, social rank be damned. Reason did not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love was the truest love. Anyone could love a person because. That was easy as putting a penny in a pocket. But to love someone despite. To know the flaws and obstacles and love them, still. That was rare and pure and perfect.

Lyrei put her arms around Xenia’s neck and kissed her, and the spy held her tightly against her. She had never said so, but when Lyrei kissed her it was as if she became aware of her every heartbeat, feeling more alive than ever when her tongue entered her mouth. She held her so tightly, as if holding her would make time stop entirely.

The Queen’s eyes sparkled vibrantly as she looked up at her. It was like she had seen through every facet of her, holding Xenia against the light as if she truly were translucent, and instead of making her feel as if she had been looked through and found wanting, she felt... seen.

“It seems silly, does it not?,” Lyrei asked. “That an empty chair and a ring of metal can mean so much depending on who they belong to.”

“On the contrary, to look powerful is to be powerful.”

Lyrei hummed and gestured towards the glittering marble palace. “It’s strange to think that, once, I was afraid of these walls, frightened by such beauty. I see the cracks now... and I know that I have what it takes to fill them in, to make the world better. But I will admit that I am a little frightened.”

“Some might say that a healthy dose of fear is a good thing for monarchs to have.”

“Perhaps so. As beautiful as this world is, it's just as dangerous. Monarchs who are not useful, monarchs who make mistakes, they can be removed. I can be removed, if I fail to live up to people’s expectations.” She sighed. “It’s a heavy topic, I know, but I did not grow up a princess, my life has not been charming. I know to expect the worst out of everything and everyone. Ignorance is a burden I do not intend to carry.”

“And that, sweet girl, is precisely why you will be the greatest queen Lysende has ever know,” Xenia whispered. “A queen should know her people. You know how things really are in your kingdom, instead of being told by advisors and diplomats. That is the very foundation that makes a good queen.” She smiled. “Even before that ring of metal was on your head, your crown was in your heart, and the heart does not change. You forged this crown yourself and now you must wear it, and wear it well you will.”

When Lyrei smiled at her, she beamed, she glowed. “Xenia?”

“Yes?”

“My life is going to be filled with so many balls that I’m not sure I will remember them all by the time I am old and grey, but I would be honoured if you would share the first dance of my reign with me.”

Xenia smiled, brushing her lips against her wrist as she began to slowly sway with Lyrei in her arms. The relaxing orchestra music was perfect, their bodies pressed together so close that they could feel the other’s heart beating. When Xenia’s eyes met Lyrei’s gaze, everything else melted away into nothing. There was only them. There was only that moment. Xenia held her close, and in the wake of all that had happened to get to that point it felt so good to simply breathe for a moment.

Lyrei’s breath was slow and warm as it tickled at her neck, Xenia’s cheek resting on her ginger hair. Holding her so close, their hearts beating in time, the rest of the world was far away. It was a special sort of magic that felt like she had only ever glanced at her destiny sideways, as if she had never truly seen it for what it was and now the hope of what she wanted most of all loomed bright and lurid in the corners of her battered and healing heart.

“I have never danced with a queen before,” she whispered.

“Nor I, a Spy Mistress.”

“Remember this moment with me.”

Lyrei smiled softly. “I promise that whatever may come, your heart I will choose.”

\- fin.


End file.
